Nokia Lumia 920 Case Review: Cimo S-Line Back Case

Since the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone has only become available (and many customer orders are still backordered), the availability of accessories is still somewhat limited. Sure, you can pick up a few bigger name brand styles at the AT & T Store, but they’re awfully expensive. As such, many new Lumia 920 owners will be scrambling online to find a case to protect their phones. One affordable option is the S-Line Back Case from Cimo Technologies. Cimo produces the S-Line design for a number of phones and tablets, including the Lumia 920, HTC 8X, and HTC 8S Windows Phone 8 handsets.

Colors and Style

The S-Line case for Lumia 920 is available in several transparent colors at present, including: clear, hot pink, purple, red, white, and black. For this review, Cimo provided us with clear and hot pink cases. The clear case really shows off your phone’s actual color, making it a great choice for any color of 920, but especially the cyan, red, and yellow handsets. I would only use the hot pink case with a white or black phone, as it certainly clashes with my cyan handset.

As for the S-Line in the case’s name, it describes the S-shaped line that runs along the back of the case. All of the colored cases are transparent to some degree. On one side of the S the color is foggier and less transparent, while the other side is the same color as the rest of the case. Cimo also makes a glossy version with no S-Line (in solid colors or clear), but I find the S-Line more attractive and distinct.

That said, small pockets of air show on the rear of the case on our white phone, whether using the pink or clear case. This doesn't happen on the cyan phone for some reason.

Build

Cimo’s 920 case is one solid piece of silicone material. The Lumia 920 pops into it easily quite easily. It fits on the phone perfectly with very little ‘give.’ Because the case is flexible, the phone can be removed with little effort as well, which I love.

The sides of the case have a textured grip that make the phone easy to hold onto, even if your hand becomes sweaty due to an intense gaming situation or simply living in Texas. While some might prefer a smoother grip and the occasional phone dropping, I find the S-Line a pleasure to hold.

Instead of having cut-outs for the Lumia 920’s volume, power, and camera buttons, the right side of the case is simply shaped around the buttons. This makes the buttons require slightly more pressure to push, but on the bright side you’re also less likely to hit them by accident. The covered buttons might take a little getting used to, but I don’t even notice them anymore.

Cut-outs

Case bottom

The S-Line case has cut-outs on the top, bottom, and rear. Starting with the back, there are holes for both the camera and flash. Both would seem to line up perfectly. However, when the phone's flash is used, some of the light reflects off of the case and can distort the colors of the photograph. I would recommend removing the case when you know you'll need the flash.

On the bottom, the hole provides ample space for the Lumia 920’s speakers and micro-USB port. Unfortunately, the material running around the front of the phone is a bit too thin in this location. On one of the two cases provided, it’s also loose in that spot and could potentially break if pulled. Hopefully Cimo reinforces that area in future production runs.

At the top, the cut-out allows access to the headset jack, but not the phone’s upper microphone (which is a small and easily overlooked series of dots to the right of the jack). This could result in slightly lower sound quality when shooting videos, unfortunately. But most of the early cases available fail to account for the top mic, presumably due to its relatively hidden appearance. Still, the oversight is easily fixed with a hole puncher. Thanks to reader Poddie for pointing that out.

Also, the cut-out for the headset jack is a bit too snug for one of the cords I plugged in. I had to really move the plug around to get a solid connection. Admittedly, a lot of plugs would be less thick than the one I used, so this likely won’t be a problem for most users. Still, the hole puncher solution works for this too.

Protection

Case top

The S-Line case should provide a good degree of protection to your Lumia 920. The phone will be just about immune to scratches from the rear and sides while using this case, and it also seems tight enough to prevent particles from getting between the phone and the case. The Lumia 920 can still charge wirelessly while wearing this case, by the way.

The only area where more protection could be desirable is on the front. Because the Lumia 920’s Gorilla Glass 2 screen is raised a bit over the actual shell of the phone, it ends up being just about flush with the S-Line case. If the material around the front edge of the case was a few millimeters thicker, it would provide a much greater degree of protection to the screen.

Overall Impression

Despite the favorable drop test results we’ve seen for the Lumia 920, the device will still take damage from falls. In fact, my girlfriend’s screen shattered when dropped from head height (thankfully we have insurance). That’s why it’s important to protect your phone with a case, especially if you can’t easily afford a replacement.

The Cimo S-Line Back Case is one of the better low-cost options for the Lumia 920. It doesn’t quite protect the screen as much as it should, but otherwise keeps the rest of the phone extremely safe. The S-Line does a great job of looking distinctive without obscuring the Lumia 920’s natural beauty. You can’t say that about a cheap rubber case. Choose a color that goes well with your phone and you’ll likely love the way it looks.

Cimo’s S-Line case for the Lumia 920 is available exclusively from Amazon at the moment, but the Windows Phone Central Store may carry it in the near future as well. We’ll have a review of Cimo’s HTC 8X case soon, so stay tuned!

Looks like the black (rubber) case in your pics has higher ridges around the screen. With the S-Line case, when you put the phone face down on the table, are the ridges high enough to keep the screen from touching the table?

I have a L900 and the best one I am using till date is the factory one from Nokia, best fitting. WPCentral should start stocking some originals as well, though I know Nokia hasn't released any original cases for the L920

IF I were gonna put a case on it, it would be something like this one. Just enough protection against scuffs and scratches on the exterior and trust the Gorilla glass to protect against most falls. I figure why bulk up a device that's already "big" and if the already strong glass is gonna shatter, it's gonna shatter regardless what you use.

What's in your pocket besides the phone? Mine going in and out of jeans, shorts, sweats, etc. with nothing else in the pocket is flawless. If they can rub a key across it with some pressure and not scratch it, you must be hitting it with something sharp or something.

I have this cover and really like it. One thing that worried me was how it was going to work with the wirelee charging plate and stand I had coming. Well I recieved them and the phone charges on both without removing the case cover.

Too bad the colors suck. I have been wanting something in a Cubs-like blue, but no luck yet (and I'm really waiting until after Christmas to get a case). I'd settle for another decent color (non-light green, or example), but these color choices are weak.

There is no blue version. The one in the article is the clear case over a cyan device (and I don't like cyan for my phone). On the site, the blue-ish one is listed as purple, meaning you probably get a case with a color resembling the California Blue (which is rather purple) on the 8X. The site doesn't list any blue, and I want a blue that isn't for girls (which I feel like cyan is, along with California Blue, which really is rather purple).

These cases are so easy to put on and off and so cheap from eBay you can get several and switch them out to match your accent colors. I think I can use a hole punch to clear the top mix... But I haven't tried it yet.

Just wanted to give you props on the hole punch to create a hole for the top MIC idea. That area being covered was holding me back from buying this since I want the audio during video recording. Now I have a neat, quick and easy solution.

I bought a couple different colors under the Fosmon brand, off of Amazon. Can't be beat for $3.50. And to answer the questions above, it substantially imrpoves the grip of the phone. Without a case, the phone has slipped from my hand twice now, onto carpet, thankfully. The 920 PCB is too slick for me.

I eventually cut off the thin little strip by the USB port, as it did deform as in the picture above. That didn't affect fit at all and I have to wonder why they bothered with that feature.

I have a cyan Diztronic case on the way for my cyan 920, but I may get a clear Cimo too, since they're so inexpensive.

I have this case. Grips are nice, but is does cover the top mic. I do have to remove top of the case to use my aux cable. WORST PART: and this was not mentioned in the review, but the case interferes with the flash. Pictures have a ghosting around them. Dies not happen with the case off. Returning ours.

Terrible case, I bought the clear one, if taking a photo with the Lumia 920 the flash or focus flash is seen in the pics. Reflects off the case. Definitely not good with photos, especially in the dark. A dark picture will have bright light around the edges

Had my black 920 on top of a pizza box as I was carrying it in house and as I put box on table phone slid right off on to ceramic tiled floor, dropped about 5 feet and made a horrible noise. My heart sank, I picked it up quickly and looked for damage. NOTHING! Not even a scratch anywhere! This phone is a little tank. I might've gotten lucky and it landed just right but this boost my confidence in build quality as is for sure. Don't think I'll be getting case, looks too good without it.

I had a smilar clear case (albeit from a different manufacturer) for the L900. The seperate flash and camera cutouts have an issue with night time photography. If you try to take pictures at night with the flash, the light leaks into the case and onto the camera lens making the top portion of the image completely white and casting a whie glow on the rest of the image. Unfortunately, I dont have any of those pictures on my phone to share but it isnt hard to replicate. I would recommend a case that has a common cutout for both the flash and lens.

I have one of these quicksand cases too... It's nice quality, but I can't stand the feel of the texture. I feel like my fingers are dry and need to be moisturized when I pick up the phone. I was expecting it to be somewhat softer... Unfortunately, it's not.

People saying that you do not need a case do not understand how varied the human race is. For me personally, the phone is ruined if it touches a dirty table or oily fingers. I wouldn't let ANYONE, including my GF, touch it without a case. For OCD people like me, which there are plenty, a case is absolutely 100% mandatory.

And another thing a lot people don't think about-being able to sell it on eBay (after a couple years of course) and describe the phone as "mint condition". You definitely get more $$$$. Phones that are scratched, gouged, dented etc get far less..THAT is why I use a case.

Does the wireless charger work with the case on? I just got the wireless charger and love it! I dropped my yellow 920 the first day as I wasn't used to how slippery it was... It hit the hard wood floor and (thankfully) was fine...

When I got home, the Diztronic case was waiting for me. ;-) Even though at lists @ $12.50, I like this case much better than the Cimo/Fosman case.

It has a matte texture on the case itself and is smooth all the way around. While it feels a bit slick, it provides good grip. I especially like the cutout for the power button, which makes it much easier to find than the Cimo case. The translucent cyan color is also a very good match for the Nokia cyan. My only complaint is that it covers up the top microphone. The only case I've seen so far that doesn't cover the top mic is the $40 Speck case at the AT&T store.

I havent taken any pics with it on yet, so no idea of it will cause relections or not.

Got this from Ebay and am very happy with it. Not having claimed my wireless charger yet though, I suspect case won't work with charger but happy to 'pop' it off to charge when required. Love case including side grips. Yes, buttons need to be pressed a bit more but am now used to that.